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The Route of Saint Olav Ways
 The pilgrim ways through Scandinavia are a network
of routes through Denmark, Sweden and Norway, many
of them the remnants of historic routes leading to Nidaros
Cathedral in Trondheim where Saint Olav lies buried.
Since the 1990s, the ways have been improved
and signposted, in order to set out on a variety of walks
through the spectacular landscape of Scandinavia.
Date and countries
Incorporated into the programme
"The Council of Europe Cultural
Routes": 2010
Countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden
Presentation
 The city of Trondheim – or Nidaros – in Norway
was a popular destination for pilgrims not long
after Norway’s King Olav Haraldsson (995-1030)
fell in the battle of Stiklestad in 1030.
From the 11th century, the Saint Olav cult
spread throughout the Nordic countries, and
to the British Isles and Hanseatic towns along
the Baltic Sea. Adherents were found in the
Netherlands and Normandy, and even as far
away as Spain, Russia and Istanbul.
The oldest
surviving painting of Saint Olav, around 1160 AD,
is on a column in the Nativity Church in Bethlehem.
The number of Olav churches and chapels reminds us that
the Saint Olav tradition once flourished all over northern
Europe. Prior to the Reformation (before 1540, approximately),
we know of at least 340 Olav churches and Olav chapels
of which 288 were outside Norway. In Sweden, we know
of at least 75 churches dedicated to Saint Olav, in Denmark
around 20 and in Finland at least 13.
Saint Olav’s day or Olsok (literally Saint Olav’s wake)
is celebrated in many places in Scandinavia each year
on 29 July to commemorate the Saint. It is also the official
national holiday of the Faroe Islands. The annual
Saint Olav’s Church and Culture Festival in Trondheim
always attracts a large international audience
for an entire week around Olsok.
(Photo: Suède
The Saint Olav altar frontal from around 1300.
Original in the Archbishop's Palace Museum, Trondheim, Norway)
More information
E-mail: berit.lanke@pilegrimsgarden.no
Website: www.pilgrim.info
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